John Kerry arrives in Middle East to fix ties

London – US Secretary of State John Kerry has reportedly arrived in the Middle East to repair ties with the nation’s long-standing ally.

The US diplomat first made an unscheduled stop in Egypt, where ousted president Mohamed Morsi’s trial has been scheduled for Monday, and called for an end to violence and a move to full democracy.

According to the BBC, Egypt is one of the issues that have caused tension between Saudi Arabia and the US in recent months, fueled more by the conflict in Syria.

Kerry said that the US is committed to working with Egypt’s new rulers and stressed the need for the nation to move to democracy.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is unhappy that peace talks over Syria could lead to an Iran-backed government in Damascus.

The report said that Riyadh is also concerned about a US-Iran rapprochement over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

While in Cairo, Kerry said that he would not allow countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt to be ‘attacked from the outside’, a message viewed by some as a veiled reference to Iran.

Kerry’s nine-day trip will take in a number of countries in the region and in Europe, including the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan and Poland and the diplomat will also meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders to discuss the peace process in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the report added.